Ahmed Zewail
{{Short description|Egyptian chemist (1946–2016)}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Ahmed Zewail
| native_name = أحمد زويل
| image = Ahmed Zewail HD2009 Othmer Gold Medal portrait.JPG
| caption = Zewail in 2010
| honorific_suffix = {{small|ON}} {{small|OME}}
| birth_name = Ahmed Hassan Zewail
| birth_date = {{birth date|1946|02|26}}
| birth_place = Damanhur, Egypt
| death_date = {{death date and age|2016|8|2|1946|2|26|mf=y}}
| death_place = Pasadena, California, U.S.
| resting_place = 6th of October, Giza, Egypt
| nationality = Egyptian
| citizenship = {{flagicon|Egypt}} Egypt
{{flagicon|United States}} United States (naturalized){{Cite web |date=10 August 2016 |title=In Fond Remembrance of Egyptian-American Scientist Ahmed Zewail |url=https://eg.usembassy.gov/fond-remembrance-egyptian-american-scientist-ahmed-zewail/ |access-date=3 June 2023 |website=U.S. Embassy in Egypt}}
| alma_mater = {{Plainlist|
- {{nowrap|University of Alexandria (B.S., M.S.)}}
- University of Pennsylvania (Ph.D.)}}
| thesis_title = Optical and magnetic resonance spectra of triplet excitons and localized states in molecular crystals
| thesis_url = https://www.proquest.com/docview/302738220/
| thesis_year = 1975
| doctoral_advisor = Robin M. Hochstrasser
| known_for = Femtochemistry
| doctoral_students =
| notable_students =
| field = {{Plainlist|
}}
| workplaces = {{Plainlist|
- University of California, Berkeley
- California Institute of Technology
- Zewail City of Science, Technology and Innovation
- Tohoku University
}}
| prizes = {{Plainlist|
- King Faisal International Prize for Science (1989)
- Wolf Prize (Chemistry) (1993)
- Order of Merit (1995)
- Peter Debye Award (1996)
- Tolman Award (1997)
- E. Bright Wilson Award (1997)
- E. O. Lawrence Award (1998)
- The Franklin Medal (United States) (1998)
- Paul Karrer Gold Medal (1998)
- Nobel Prize for Chemistry (1999)
- Order of the Nile (1999)
- ForMemRS (2001)
- Albert Einstein World Award of Science (2006)
- Othmer Gold Medal (2009)
- Priestley Medal (2011)
- Davy Medal (2011)
}}
}}
Ahmed Hassan Zewail (February 26, 1946 – August 2, 2016) was an Egyptian-American chemist,{{Cite web |last=Khan |first=Amina |date=2016-08-05 |title=Nobel Prize-winning Caltech scientist Ahmed Zewail has died at 70 |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-ahmed-zewail-20160805-snap-story.html |access-date=2023-06-01 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}} known as the "father of femtochemistry". He was awarded the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on femtochemistry and became the first Egyptian and Arab to win a Nobel Prize in a scientific field, and also the first African to win a Nobel Prize in Chemistry.{{cn|date=March 2025}} He was a professor of chemistry and physics at the California Institute of Technology (CalTech), where he was the first CalTech faculty member to be named the Linus Pauling Chair of Chemical Physics{{Cite web |title=Caltech Selects Chemist Ahmed Zewail For First Linus Pauling Professorship |url=https://www.the-scientist.com/caltech-selects-chemist-ahmed-zewail-for-first-linus-pauling-professorship-61484 |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=The Scientist |language=en}} and served as the director of the Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology.{{Cite web |date=2016-08-07 |title=بالفيديو والصور.. جثمان أحمد زويل يوارى الثرى بمدفن أسرته بمدينة 6 أكتوبر |url=https://www.youm7.com/story/2016/8/7/%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%88-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%AC%D8%AB%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A3%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF-%D8%B2%D9%88%D9%8A%D9%84-%D9%8A%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%89-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AB%D8%B1%D9%89-%D8%A8%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%81%D9%86-%D8%A3%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%AA%D9%87-%D8%A8%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A9/2832886 |access-date=2024-06-07 |website=اليوم السابع |language=ar}}
Early life and education
Ahmed Hassan Zewail was born on February 26, 1946, in Damanhur, Egypt, and was raised in Desouk.{{cite web|author=Weil, Martin|title=Ahmad Zewail, Nobel laureate who sparked a 'revolution in chemistry,' dies at 70|date=3 August 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/ahmed-zewail-nobel-laureate-who-sparked-a-revolution-in-chemistry-dies-at-70/2016/08/03/73d05068-592b-11e6-9767-f6c947fd0cb8_story.html|access-date=9 August 2016}} He received Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in chemistry from Alexandria University before moving to the United States to complete his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania under the supervision of Robin M. Hochstrasser.{{cite web|author=Zewail, Ahmed|title=Autobiography|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1999/zewail-autobio.html|publisher=Nobelprize.org|access-date=12 February 2011|archive-date=8 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008202711/http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1999/zewail-autobio.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite thesis|degree=PhD|author=Zewail, Ahmed|title=Optical and magnetic resonance spectra of triplet excitons and localized states in molecular crystals |publisher=University of Pennsylvania|year=1975|oclc=54507972}}
Career
After completing his PhD, Zewail did postdoctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley, supervised by Charles B. Harris. Following this, he was awarded a faculty appointment at the California Institute of Technology in 1976, and eventually became the first Linus Pauling Chair in Chemical Physics there. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States on March 5, 1982.{{cite book|author=Zewail, Ahmed|title=Voyage Through Time: Walks of Life to the Nobel Prize|url=https://archive.org/details/voyagethroughtim00zewa|url-access=limited|year=2002|publisher=World Scientific|isbn=978-981-4338-09-7|page=[https://archive.org/details/voyagethroughtim00zewa/page/n226 214]}} Zewail was the director of the Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology at the California Institute of Technology.{{cite web|author=Zewail, Ahmed|title=A Message from the Director|url=http://ust.caltech.edu/message/index.html|publisher=Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology, California Institute of Technology|access-date=8 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810071820/http://www.ust.caltech.edu/message/index.html|archive-date=10 August 2016|url-status=dead}}
File:CFP_members_with_Dr._Ahmed_Zewail.jpg in 2012]]Zewail was nominated and participated in President Barack Obama's Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), an advisory group of the nation's leading scientists and engineers to advise the President and Vice President and formulate policy in the areas of science, technology, and innovation.{{cite web|title=President Obama Announces Members of Science and Technology Advisory Council|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/11/16/president-obama-announces-members-science-and-technology-advisory|publisher=The White House|date=27 April 2009|access-date=6 September 2019}}
Research
Zewail's key work was a pioneer of femtochemistry{{cite journal|author1=Douhal, Abderrazzak|author2=Lahmani, Françoise|author3=Zewail, Ahmed H.|title=Proton-transfer reaction dynamics|journal=Chemical Physics|volume=207|issue=2–3|date=1996|pages=477–498|issn=0301-0104|doi=10.1016/0301-0104(96)00067-5|bibcode=1996CP....207..477D}}{{cite journal|author1=Pal, Samir Kumar|author2=Zewail, Ahmed H.|s2cid=10050118|title=Dynamics of Water in Biological Recognition|journal=Chemical Reviews|volume=104|issue=4|year=2004|pages=2099–2124|issn=0009-2665|doi=10.1021/cr020689l|pmid=15080722}}{{cite journal|author=Zewail, Ahmed H.|title=Femtochemistry: Atomic-Scale Dynamics of the Chemical Bond†|journal=The Journal of Physical Chemistry A|volume=104|issue=24|year=2000|pages=5660–5694|issn=1089-5639|doi=10.1021/jp001460h|bibcode=2000JPCA..104.5660Z}}—i.e. the study of chemical reactions across femtoseconds. Using a rapid ultrafast laser technique (consisting of ultrashort laser flashes), the technique allows the description of reactions on very short time scales – short enough to analyse transition states in selected chemical reactions.{{cite web|title=Press Release: The 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry|date=12 October 1999|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1999/press.html|publisher=Nobelprize.org|access-date=12 February 2011}} File:Ahmed_Zewail_1986.png
Zewail became known as the "father of femtochemistry".{{cite news|author=Browne, Malcolm W.|title=Nobels for Fast Camera and Tying 2 Forces of Nature|agency=Associated Press/Reuters/Agence France-Presse|newspaper=The New York Times|date=13 October 1999|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/13/world/nobels-for-fast-camera-and-tying-2-forces-of-nature.html|access-date=9 August 2016}} He also made critical contributions in ultrafast electron diffraction, which uses short electron pulses rather than light pulses to study chemical reaction dynamics.{{Cite journal |last1=Srinivasan |first1=Ramesh |last2=Lobastov |first2=Vladimir A. |last3=Ruan |first3=Chong-Yu |last4=Zewail |first4=Ahmed H. |date=July 10, 2003 |title=Ultrafast Electron Diffraction (UED): A New Development for the 4D Determination of Transient Molecular Structures |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hlca.200390147 |journal=Helvetica Chimica Acta |language=en |volume=86 |issue=6 |pages=1761–1799 |doi=10.1002/hlca.200390147}}
Political work
In a speech at Cairo University on June 4, 2009, US President Barack Obama proclaimed a new Science Envoy program as part of a "new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world."{{Cite journal|last=Thomas|first=John Meurig|date=2019-12-30|title=Ahmed Hassan Zewail. 26 February 1946—2 August 2016|journal=Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society|volume=68|pages=431–453|doi=10.1098/rsbm.2019.0040|doi-access=free}} In January 2010, Ahmed Zewail, Elias Zerhouni, and Bruce Alberts became the first US science envoys to Islam, visiting Muslim-majority countries from North Africa to Southeast Asia.{{cite web|author=Pellerin, Cheryl|title=First U.S. Science Envoys Begin Work in Muslim-Majority Countries|date=16 February 2010|url=http://www.america.gov/st/scitech-english/2010/February/20100115082753lcnirellep0.1611902.html|publisher=America.gov|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100226074643/http://www.america.gov/st/scitech-english/2010/February/20100115082753lcnirellep0.1611902.html|archive-date=26 February 2010|url-status=dead}}File:Ahmed_Zewail_(2010).jpgWhen asked about rumors that he might contest the 2011 Egyptian presidential election, Ahmed Zewail said: "I am a frank man... I have no political ambition, as I have stressed repeatedly that I only want to serve Egypt in the field of science and die as a scientist."{{cite news|title=Obituary: Envoy to science|url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/NewsQ/17029.aspx|newspaper=Al-Ahram Weekly|date=4 August 2016|access-date=9 August 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919195122/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/NewsQ/17029.aspx|archive-date=19 September 2016|df=dmy-all}}{{cite book|publisher=Chemical Physics Letters|title=Obituary: AHMED HASSAN ZEWAIL (1946–2016)|url=http://www.journals.elsevier.com/chemical-physics-letters/news/obituary-ahmed-hassan-zewail-1946-2016|access-date=9 August 2016}}
During the 2011 Egyptian protests he announced his return to the country. Zewail said that he would join a committee for constitutional reform alongside Ayman Nour, Mubarak's rival at the 2005 presidential elections and a leading lawyer.{{cite news|title=Egypt: Zewail returns, credible post-Mubarak figure|url=http://www.ansamed.info/en/egitto/news/ME.XEF12253.html|newspaper=ANSAmed|date=1 February 2011|access-date=5 February 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004035107/http://www.ansamed.info/en/egitto/news/ME.XEF12253.html|archive-date=4 October 2011|df=dmy-all}}
Zewail was later mentioned as a respected figure working as an intermediary between the military regime ruling after Mubarak's resignation, and revolutionary youth groups such as the April 6 Youth Movement and young supporters of Mohamed ElBaradei.{{cite news|author=Fahim, Kareem|title=Military Offers Assurances to Egypt and Neighbors|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/13/world/middleeast/13egypt.html|access-date=12 February 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|date=February 12, 2011|author2=Kirkpatrick, David D.}} He played a critical role during this time as described by Egyptian Media.
Key Scientific Achievements & Impact<ref>{{Cite web |title=Spectroscopy {{!}} Definition, Types, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/spectroscopy |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
- Pioneering the Field of Femtochemistry:
Zewail used ultrashort laser pulses (on the femtosecond scale, 10⁻¹⁵ seconds) to observe chemical reactions at the molecular level in real time. This allowed scientists to watch atoms in a molecule move and bonds break/form during chemical reactions — something that was previously thought impossible. It revolutionized physical chemistry by enabling a deeper understanding of reaction mechanisms and transition states, and it paved the way for advancements in chemistry, biology, and materials science.
- Development of Femtosecond Spectroscopy Techniques:
He developed laser spectroscopy tools capable of capturing snapshots of molecular motion at femtosecond resolution. These tools are used globally in research to study ultrafast processes in chemical, biological, and solid-state systems, including photosynthesis and protein folding. It turned spectroscopy into a dynamic imaging tool, expanding its application across numerous scientific disciplines.
- First Direct Observation of a Transition State in a Chemical Reaction (1990):
Zewail’s experiments allowed scientists to observe the "transition state" — the critical moment when reactants begin to turn into products. Which confirmed theoretical models of reaction pathways and provided experimental validation for reaction dynamics. It enabled chemists to refine their models and better control chemical reactions in fields like drug development and catalysis.
- Development of 4D Electron Microscopy:
Later in his career, Zewail combined ultrafast laser techniques with electron microscopy to create 4D electron microscopy, capturing real-time movement in nanoscale structures. Enabled visualization of biological structures, nanomaterials, and solid-state dynamics with both high spatial and temporal resolution. It opened a new era of imaging at the atomic scale, with potential applications in nanotechnology, biology, and materials research.
- Global Scientific Outreach and Institution Building:
Zewail advocated for scientific education in the Arab world and founded the Zewail City of Science and Technologyin Egypt.
Awards and honours
Zewail's work brought him international attention, receiving awards and honors throughout most of his career for his work in chemistry and physics. In 1999, Zewail became the first Egyptian to receive a science Nobel Prize when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Zewail gave his Nobel Lecture on "Femtochemistry: Atomic-Scale Dynamics of the Chemical Bond Using Ultrafast Lasers".{{cite journal|volume=39|issue=15|pages=2586–2631|doi=10.1002/1521-3773(20000804)39:15<2586::AID-ANIE2586>3.0.CO;2-O|year=2000|author=Zewail, Ahmed H.|title=Femtochemistry: Atomic-Scale Dynamics of the Chemical Bond Using Ultrafast Lasers (Nobel Lecture)|journal=Angewandte Chemie International Edition|pmid=10934390}}{{cite web|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1999/zewail-lecture.html|title=Ahmed Zewail – Nobel Lecture: Femtochemistry: Atomic-Scale Dynamics of the Chemical Bond Using Ultrafast Lasers|publisher=Nobelprize.org|access-date=9 August 2016}}
In 1999, he received Egypt's highest state honour, the Grand Collar of the Nile. Other notable awards include the Alexander von Humboldt Senior Scientist Award (1983), the King Faisal International Prize (1989), the Wolf Prize in Chemistry (1993), the Earle K. Plyler Prize (1993), the Herbert P. Broida Prize (1995), the Peter Debye Award (1996), the Tolman Award (1997), the Robert A. Welch Award (1997), the Linus Pauling Medal (1997), the Franklin Medal (1998) and the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement (2000).{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=American Academy of Achievement|url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#science-exploration}} In October 2006, Zewail received the Albert Einstein World Award of Science for "his pioneering development of the new field of femtoscience and for his seminal contributions to the revolutionary discipline of physical biology, creating new ways for better understanding the functional behavior of biological systems by directly visualizing them in the four dimensions of space and time."{{cite web|title=Prof. Ahmed Zewail|url=http://www.consejoculturalmundial.org/winners/winners-of-the-world-award-of-science/prof-ahmed-zewail/|date=28 October 2006|publisher=World Cultural Council|access-date=9 August 2016}} Zewail was awarded the Othmer Gold Medal (2009),{{cite web|title=Othmer Gold Medal|url=https://www.sciencehistory.org/othmer-gold-medal|access-date=22 March 2018|website=Science History Institute|date=31 May 2016}}{{cite news|title=Chemical Heritage Foundation Presents Ahmed Zewail with Othmer Gold Medal|url=http://www.chromatographytechniques.com/news/2009/01/chemical-heritage-foundation-presents-ahmed-zewail-othmer-gold-medal|access-date=12 June 2014|work=Chromatography Techniques|date=27 January 2009}} the Priestley Medal (2011) from the American Chemical Society{{cite news|title=Zewail Wins 2011 Priestley Medal|newspaper=Chemical & Engineering News|page=5|date=21 June 2010}} and the Davy Medal (2011) from the Royal Society.{{cite web|url=https://royalsociety.org/news/2011/RS-announces-2011-Copley/|title=Royal Society announces 2011 Copley Medal recipient|publisher=The Royal Society|access-date=19 July 2011}}
In 1982 he was named as a Fellow of the American Physical Society.{{Cite web |title=Ahmed H. Zewail |url=https://history.aip.org/phn/11812006.html |access-date=August 3, 2023 |website=American Institute of Physics: Physics History Network}} Zewail became a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1989,{{Cite web|title=Ahmed H. Zewail|url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/deceased-members/4583.html|access-date=2021-12-03|website=www.nasonline.org}} the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1993,{{Cite web|title=Ahmed Hassan Zewail|url=https://www.amacad.org/person/ahmed-hassan-zewail|access-date=2021-12-03|website=American Academy of Arts & Sciences|language=en}} and the American Philosophical Society in 1998.{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Ahmed+H.+Zewail&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=2021-12-03|website=search.amphilsoc.org}} Zewail was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 2001.{{cite web |title=Fellowship of the Royal Society 1660–2015|url=https://royalsociety.org/people/ahmed-zewail-12586/|publisher=Royal Society|location=London}} He was also elected as a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences in 2001.{{Cite web |title=Zewail Ahmed Hassan {{!}} The AAS |url=https://www.aasciences.africa/fellow/zewail-ahmed-hassan |access-date=2022-12-15 |website=www.aasciences.africa}}
Zewail was made a Foreign Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In 2005, the Ahmed Zewail Award for Ultrafast Science and Technology was established by the American Chemical Society and the Newport Corporation in his honor.{{Cite web |title=Funding and Awards: Ahmed Zewail Award in Ultrafast Science and Technology |url=https://www.acs.org/funding/awards/ahmed-zewail-award-in-ultrafast-science-and-technology.html |access-date=August 3, 2023 |website=American Chemical Society}} In 2010 the journal Chemical Physics Letters established the Ahmed Zewail Prize in Molecular Sciences.{{cite journal |last1=Thomas |first1=John Meurig |title=Ahmed Hassan Zewail. 26 February 1946—2 August 2016 |journal=Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society |date=6 November 2019|volume=68 |pages=431–453 |doi=10.1098/rsbm.2019.0040 |doi-access=free }} In May 2010, Zewail gave the commencement address at Southwestern University.{{cite web|title=Nobel Laureate to Give 2010 Commencement Address|url=https://www.southwestern.edu/live/news/2606-nobel-laureate-to-give-2010-commencement-address|publisher=Southwestern University|date=20 April 2010|access-date=6 September 2019}} The Zewail City of Science and Technology, established in 2000 and revived in 2011, is named in his honour.
=Honorary degrees=
Zewail was bestowed honorary degrees by the following institutions:
University of Oxford, UK (1991);
The American University in Cairo, Egypt (1993);
Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven, Belgium (1997);
University of Pennsylvania, US (1997);
University of Lausanne, Switzerland (1997);
Swinburne University of Technology, Australia (1999);
Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport, Egypt (1999);
D.Sc. Alexandria University, Egypt (1999);
D.Sc. University of New Brunswick, Canada (2000);
Sapienza University of Rome, Italy (2000);
University of Liège, Belgium (2000);{{cite web|title=Honorary Degrees|volume=39|issue=15|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1999/zewail/biographical/|website=Wiley Online Library|access-date=6 September 2019}}
Heriot-Watt University, Scotland (2002);
Lund University, Sweden (2003);
Cambridge University (2006);{{cite web|title=Honorary Degrees 2006|url=https://www.cam.ac.uk/news/honorary-degrees-2006|publisher=University of Cambridge|access-date=9 August 2016|date=3 July 2006}}
Complutense University of Madrid, Spain (2008);{{cite web|title=Zewail, Ahmed H (Ciencias Químicas), 12 de mayo de 2008|url=https://www.ucm.es/zewail,-ahmed-h-ciencias-quimicas,-12-de-mayo-de-2008|publisher=Complutense University of Madrid|access-date=9 August 2016}}
University of Jordan, Jordan (2009);{{cite web|url=http://jordantimes.com/?news=14610&searchFor=zewail|title=Egyptian Nobel laureate calls for 'scientific renaissance' in Arab world|author=Kheetan, Thameen|date=26 February 2009|work=Jordan Times|access-date=28 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713120230/http://jordantimes.com/?news=14610&searchFor=zewail|archive-date=13 July 2011|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}
University of Glasgow, Scotland (2011);{{cite web|title=Guest lectures – archive: Professor Ahmed Zewail – 3rd October 2011|url=http://www.gla.ac.uk/events/lectures/archive/|publisher=University of Glasgow|access-date=9 August 2016}}
Yale University, US (2014).{{cite web|title=Yale awards 12 honorary degrees at 2014 graduation|url=https://news.yale.edu/2014/05/19/yale-awards-12-honorary-degrees-2014-graduation|publisher=YaleNews|date=19 May 2014|access-date=6 September 2019}}
=Egyptian national honours=
{{Flag|Egypt}}
- Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (Egypt) (1995)
- Grand Cordon of the Order of the Arab Republic of Egypt (1998)
- Grand Collar of the Order of the Nile (1999)
=Foreign honours=
{{Flag|France}}
- Knight of the Legion of Honour
- Officier of the National Order of Merit
{{Flag|Lebanon}}
- Grand Cordon of the National Order of the Cedar
{{Flag|Sudan}}
- Grand Officer of the Order of the Two Niles
{{Flag|Tunisia}}
- Commander of the Order of the Republic
{{Flag|United Arab Emirates}}
- Grand Officer of Order of Zayed
Personal life
Zewail and his first wife, Mervat, were married in 1967, just before leaving Egypt to attend the University of Pennsylvania for his PhD. He had two daughters with Mervat, Maha and Amani. They separated in 1979.{{Cite book |editor-last=El Nadi |editor-first=Lotfia |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1112734385 |title=The brilliant Zewail |year=2019 |publisher=World Scientific Publishing Company Pte. Limited |isbn=978-981-327-583-6 |oclc=1112734385}}{{cite web |last1=Aspturian |first1=Heidi |title=Interview with Ahmed Zewail (1946 - 2016) |url=https://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/247/1/Zewail%20OHOl%20%286.5.2017%29.pdf |website=CalTech Oral Histories |publisher=California Institute of Technology |access-date=23 August 2022}}
Zewail married Dema Faham in 1989. Zewail and Faham had two sons, Nabeel and Hani.{{cite web|url=http://www.caltech.edu/news/ahmed-zewail-1946-2016-51594|title=Ahmed Zewail, 1946–2016 {{!}} Caltech|access-date=2 August 2016|publisher=California Institute of Technology|date=2 August 2016}}{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1098/rsbm.2019.0040|title = Ahmed Hassan Zewail. 26 February 1946—2 August 2016|year = 2020|last1 = Thomas|first1 = John Meurig|journal = Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society|volume = 68|pages = 431–453|s2cid = 207893909|doi-access = free}}
Death and funeral
Zewail died aged 70 on the morning of August 2, 2016. He was recovering from cancer, however, the exact cause of his death is unknown.{{cite news|agency=Reuters News Agency|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nobel-egypt-zewail-idUSKCN10D2CP|title=Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian chemist Zewail dies|date=2 August 2016|access-date=9 August 2016}}{{cite news|title=Egyptian Chemist Zewail, Noble Prize-Winner, Dies at 70|date=2 August 2016|newspaper=The New York Times|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/08/02/world/middleeast/ap-ml-egypt-zewail-obit.html|access-date=9 August 2016}}{{cite news|title=Sisi heads mourners at military funeral for Egyptian Nobel Laureate Ahmed Zewail|newspaper=Ahram Online|date=7 August 2016|url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/238084.aspx|access-date=9 August 2016}} Zewail returned to Egypt, but only his body was received at Cairo Airport. A military funeral was held for Zewail on August 7, 2016, at the El-Mosheer Tantawy mosque in Cairo, Egypt. Those attending included President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, al-Azhar Grand Imam Ahmed el-Tayeb, Defence Minister Sedki Sobhi, former President Adly Mansour, former Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab and heart surgeon Magdi Yacoub. The funeral prayers were led by Ali Gomaa, former Grand Mufti of Egypt.{{Cite web |date=2016-08-03 |title=نبذة عن العالم المصري أحمد زويل |url=https://www.bbc.com/arabic/middleeast/2016/08/160803_egyptian_scientist_zewail_orgnl |access-date=2024-02-05 |website=BBC News عربي |language=ar}}
Publications
{{div col|colwidth=36em}}
=Scientific=
- Advances in Laser Spectroscopy I, ed. A. H. Zewail, SPIE, Bellingham, 1977
- Advances in Laser Chemistry, ed. A. H. Zewail, Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg, 1978
- Photochemistry and Photobiology, Vols. 1 and 2, ed. A. H. Zewail, Harwood Academic, London, 1983
- Ultrafast Phenomena VII, eds. C. B. Harris, E. P. Ippen, G. A. Mourou and A. H. Zewail, Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg, 1990
- The Chemical Bond: Structure and Dynamics, ed. A. H. Zewail, Academic Press, Boston, 1992
- Ultrafast Phenomena VIII, eds. J.-L. Martin, A. Migus, G. A. Mourou, and A. H. Zewail, Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg, 1993
- Ultrafast Phenomena IX, eds. P. F. Barbara, W. H. Knox, G. A. Mourou, and A. H. Zewail, Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg, 1994
- [http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/2331-vol1 Femtochemistry: Ultrafast Dynamics of the Chemical Bond Vol. I], A. H. Zewail, World Scientific, 1994
- [http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/2331-vol2 Femtochemistry: Ultrafast Dynamics of the Chemical Bond Vol. II], A. H. Zewail, World Scientific, 1994
- [http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/p559 Physical Biology: From Atoms to Medicine], ed. A. H. Zewail, Imperial College Press, London, 2008
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120520002949/http://www.worldscibooks.com/chemistry/p641.html 4D Electron Microscopy], ed. A. H. Zewail, Imperial College Press, London, 2009
- International Advisory Board for Encyclopedia of Analytical Chemistry (1999–2014)
- [http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/p953 4D Visualization of Matter: Recent Collected Works of Ahmed H Zewail, Nobel Laureate], Imperial College Press, London, 2014
=Biographical=
- [http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/5250 Voyage Through Time: Walks of Life to the Nobel Prize], Ahmed H Zewail, World Scientific, 2002
- Age of Science (2005, autobiography in Arabic)
=Remembering Ahmed H. Zewail=
- {{cite book|doi=10.1142/q0128|title=Personal and Scientific Reminiscences: Tributes to Ahmed Zewail|editor1=Majed Chergui |editor2=Rudolph A Marcus |editor3=John Meurig Thomas |editor4=Dongping Zhong|publisher=World Scientific|year=2017|last1=Chergui|first1=Majed|last2=Marcus|first2=Rudolph A.|last3=Thomas|first3=John Meurig|last4=Zhong|first4=Dongping|isbn=978-1-78634-435-9}}
- {{cite book|doi=10.1142/10750|title=Reminiscences of Ahmed H. Zewail: Photons, Electrons and What Else? A Portrait from Close Range. Remembrances of his Group Members and Family|editor1=Abderrazzak Douhal |editor2=John Spencer Baskin |editor3=Dongping Zhong|publisher=World Scientific|year=2017|last1=Douhal|first1=Abderrazzak|last2=Baskin|first2=John Spencer|last3=Zhong|first3=Dongping|isbn=978-981-323-153-5}}
{{div col end}}
See also
- Zewail City of Science and Technology (ZCST)
- Ahmed founded ZCST and even donated his entire Nobel prize money in order to establish this university. Due to his need of wanting help Egypt to excel and advance academically the first batch of students were exempted from fees due to their scientific brilliance.
- List of Egyptian scientists
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20180628192349/http://www.zewail.caltech.edu/ Official website] Captured from the Wayback Machine, June 28, 2018, accessed July 20, 2020
- {{Scopus|id=7004914740}}
- {{GoogleScholar|DFhJDHYAAAAJ}}
- [https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Zewail_A Interview with Ahmed Zewail] Caltech Oral Histories, California Institute of Technology
- {{Nobelprize}}
{{Wolf Prize in Chemistry}}
{{Nobel Prize in Chemistry Laureates 1976–2000}}
{{1999 Nobel Prize winners}}
{{Albert Einstein World Award of Science Laureates|state=collapsed}}
{{FRS 2001}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zewail, Ahmed H.}}
Category:Albert Einstein World Award of Science Laureates
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Category:Benjamin Franklin Medal (Franklin Institute) laureates